Unpopular opinion on VCP an other "comp apps"

[campyfan39]

Great discussion, and I am learning from the posts. I retract my use of the word "worthless." That was too strong of a word and I don't truly believe that to be the case, mainly based on some of the posts on this thread.

My original point was intended to be that people treat it like the be-all end-all, when it can't track most sales. I have had sellers send me screenshots that included prices from 3-4 years ago, or even pandemic pricing.

I do agree that the other sales are likely influenced by VCP, or more so, eBay sales, which people who have never heard of VCP use. That is a great point, and much like the price guides of the early days. Some dealers still use Beckett. Many old-timers at the shows I frequent have Beckett prices listed on their cards, and then they will deal from there.

I love to research; it's fun. If I have cards I want to buy, I will watch and track them on every possible platform for months. I keep meticulous records of the sales, even asking people what they bought things for and what they sold things for. I have great relationships with dozens of dealers and collectors, so I can do that.

I am not so presumptuous as to say that everyone should cancel their subscriptions or anything. I said in the OP that I was willing to be wrong and learn. However, I still believe the vast majority of sales are not and will not ever be reported to them. Thus, a card is still only as valuable as the seller thinks it is and as the buyer's desire to have it.

Originally Posted by jchcollins

So were price guides also stupid and unrealistic when they used to aggregate the comp data for us back in the 1990’s and earlier?

Clearly no buyer or seller can be forced into paying a specific price, and at times other factors / reasoning surely comes into play - but if you don’t use market data to evaluate recent prices, then I’m imagining those who might find your pricing decisions out of line whether buying or selling stands to be a higher number.

VCP is certainly useful; to the OP’s notion that it has no utility at all one would have to generally agree that the prices being paid elsewhere not tracked on VCP (whether that’s Facebook, WhatNot, a discord, the local card shop / show / flea market, garage sale…) are vastly out of line with those reported in VCP. I am only one person with a small postwar vintage collection - but at least in my experience - that’s neither true or close to being true. Some dealers will balk at the fact that a VCP average price represents a longer duration of time than just the last 3 comps that they want to use on their items because they were higher and it’s trending upward.


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